Skip Barber Race Series Champion Sebastian Wheldon Wins in Italian F4 Debut

Skip Barber Race Series champion Sebastian Wheldon launched his Italian F4 season with a statement. The Floridian took home the victory in Race 1 from Misano World Circuit, adding a fastest lap and a runner-up finish in Race 3 to his debut weekend. While Sebastian was competing in Misano, his younger brother, and fellow Skip Barber Race Series champion Oliver Wheldon was in-action across the Atlantic. Oliver earned a pair of podium finishes, headlined by a second-place result in the final race of the USF Juniors weekend from Barber Motorsports Park. Skip Barber graduate Ty Fisher was the only driver to best Oliver in the weekend’s final race. Fisher’s win in Race 3 capped off a strong weekend with a second place in Race 2, and a top five finish in Race 1. Through the first six races of the season, Fisher leads the championship with Wheldon in third. Two of the weekend’s three Hard Charger Awards went the way of Skip Barber Racing School alumni with Thomas Nordquist gaining six spots in Race 1 and Lincoln Day also advancing six spots up the order in Race 3. Sunday’s main event at Barber Motorsports Park was IndyCar’s Children of Alabama Indy Grand Prix where Skip Barber alumni Colton Herta (7th), Alexander Rossi (8th), and Josef Newgarden (10th) finished in the top ten. Skip Barber graduate Myles Rowe was fourth in Indy NXT while fellow alumni Max Taylor climbed ten spots to finish seventh in the 35-lap race. Also, at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend was Mazda MX-5 Cup where Skip Barber graduate Westin Workman finished third in Race 1 and second in Race 2. Fellow alumni Justin Adakonis was fifth in both races. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Cup Series was in Texas for 400 miles of racing around the 1.5-mile oval. Skip Barber Racing School graduate Joey Logano earned the victory as fellow alumni Ross Chastain set his season-best finish with a second place run. Also in the top ten were Skip Barber graduates Erik Jones (5th), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6th), Austin Dillon (7th), and John Hunter Nemechek (8th). In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, four Skip Barber Racing School alumni finished in the top ten: Austin Hill (4th), Harrison Burton (6th), Brandon Jones (9th), and Jeb Burton (10th). In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, graduates Tanner Gray (5th), Matt Crafton (7th), and Bayley Currey (8th) had strong runs. Lastly, a special congratulations to Alex Fedorov, Dylan Dana, Diego Jara, Liam Mahon, Gabriel Chase, Avian Kerta-Yasa, Gabriel Nyitray, Jarret Voorhies, and Joao Sousa. Through their success at the Orlando Kart Center, they have earned credentials to the Skip Barber Race Team’s weekend at Sebring International Raceway. While there, they’ll get an up-close look at the inner workings of Skip Barber’s professional racing team and spend time with the team’s drivers and instructors. To learn more about the Skip Barber Race Series, where drivers like Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon trained, click here.